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“And of the people who try it, they all tend to be in their 20s and 30s, and not as old as us,” he added.

Nick is 54, Kevin Gartland is 43 and the daddy of the trio is Bob Symons at 63.

Kevin Garland (Image: James Beck)

The trio are cycling a 25-mile loop from Keynsham Cricket Club, skirting south Bristol and going around Chew Valley Lake. They are aiming to do this 20 times from 7pm on Friday and reckon they could complete it in 40 hours, or mid-morning on Sunday.

“We’re allowed 15 minute comfort breaks every now and then,” said Nick. “And once or twice we can stop back at the cricket club for half an hour to try and get a power nap. But effectively we’re going to be doing this continuously in the saddle for 40 hours or more.

“It’s a challenge to get enough energy into our bodies, because we’ll be burning something like 24,000 calories. As well as riding for 500 miles, we’ll be going up and down all the hills too – by the end of it we’ll have cycled up 30,000ft, which is higher than from sea-level to Everest.

The route of the 500-mile challenge

“Sleep deprivation can be an issue. During the night time, we’re going to be doing a slightly different route to stay on the main roads a bit more for safety reasons. But each loop will be 25 miles and once we do one we go again,” he added.

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The trio are all raising money for a cause close to their hearts – the British Lung Foundation – as all three have been touched by COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

“Kevin lost his mother to COPD three years ago, so we’re doing this in her memory really. Bob’s wife has COPD and my brother-in-law and father-in-law have all suffered from COPD too,” added Nick.

Bob Symons (Image: James Beck)

The three were seen off at Keynsham Cricket Club by Glenn Catley, the former world-champion boxer, who said even attempting the challenge was an incredible effort.

“It is a completely mental event, they are crazy for trying it,” said Glenn. “I mean, the people who normally do this kind of thing are in their 20s and super elite athletes. These three, well, I think they will do it because they are so determined.

“I hope people realise what these three are taking on. The scale of it is incredible,” he added.

Nick Hill (Image: James Beck)

Cyclists from across Bristol, Bath and Somerset have been signing up to be able to join with the three along the way – either a whole lap or even more.